Loom gauge



T. J, OLIVER LOOM GAUGE Filed Dec. 5, 1942 May 4, 1943.

INVENTOR THOMAS J. OUVER' ATTORNE .fi Il SEP-L May' 4, 1943 T. .1. OLIVER 2,318,256

LOOM GAUGE Filed Deo. 5, 1942 I 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR THOMAS J. OLIVER Patented May 4, 1943 UNITED STATES PAT-ENT OFFICE ,i

LooMfGAUGE Thomas J. Oliver, Birmingham, Ala. Application December 5, 1942, YSerial No. 468,004

r 5 Claims. (Cl. 33-181) VThis invention relates to a gauge for use in I;

xing looms, whereby the lay may be readily set to run square with the loom and the reeds set in line with the backs of the shuttle boxes and other setting up operations performed, and has for an object the provision of a device of the character designated which shall be simple of design and operation and which shall be adapted for use in a variety of operations of setting and adjusting the operating parts of a loom.

In the xing, or setting up of looms, the squaring of the lay with the loom, the proper timing of the eccentric cranks and the throw of the eccentrics are extremely important. The position of the shuttle boxes in lregard to the race plate and the position of the reeds with respect to the loom al1 contribute to the proper working of the loom. If any of these parts are out of line, or are not running true, vthe shuttle may be thrown out of the shed, causing a stopping of the loom and endangering the workmen, as well as breaking or damaging shuttles. The principal object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a gauge by which the working of the lay with its shuttle boxes, race plate, and reeds may be properly aligned and properly timed.

A device embodying features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which Fig. 1 is a plan View of my improved gauge together with the parts of the loom with which it is associated;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, my improved gauge comprises a rear cross beam I which' is secured by means of bolts I I to arch support' I2 of a loom. In mounting the gauge, the arch is removed and the cross beam I0 bolted down to the arch support through slotted holes I5 which permit lateral adjustment of the beam. I'he cross beam IIJ, as may be seen in Fig. 2, is preferably in the form of an angle b-ar and for the purpose of positioning it on the arch support I 2 there are secured lugs I3 to the rear of the beam which take a bearing on the arch support.

The cross beam IU is centered with respect to the loom by means of rods I4 and i6 mounted in suitable bearings I1, on the underside of the cross beam I 0. Springs I8 and I9 surround the rods and bear against collars 2| and 22 respectively, on the rods I8 and I9, to urge them outwardly against the inner sides of the arch support I2. Pointers 23 and 24, carried by the rods I4 and I6, extend up over the lower flange of the cross beam III to cooperate with a scale 26 to indica-te the position of the cross beam with respect to the loom. The cross beam being bolted down through the slotted holes I5 can be shifted until the indicators 23 and 24 show that the beam is centrally located with respect to the loom. 1

kAt the ends of the cross beam I0 are Vertical supports 21 and 28 which are made higher than the top reed rod 29. Secured to the upper ends of the supports 21 and 28 are side beams 3| and 32 which extend forwardlyover the lay and reed rodsand are secured at 33 and 34 respectively to the breast beamy 36. of the loom. The side beams, as may be seen in Fig. 1, extend a considerable distance beyond the breast beam 36. Joining the forward ends of the side beams 3| and 32 is a front cross beam 31. The rear cross beam I0 and front cross beam 31 should both be rigidly joined to the side beams 3| and 32 and should be checked before each use to be sure they are in proper relation to each other; that is, the side beams 3I and 32 should extend normal to the cross beams in order to obtain accurate results.

Pivotally mounted' on the front cross beam 31 at 38,v 39, and 4I are forwardly extending arms 42, 43, and 44 respectively. Each of the forwardly extending arms is made up of channel members 45 and 45, as may be seen in Fig. 3, and house between the channels movable gauge elef ments 41 which are biased rearwardly by means of springs 48. 'A pointer 49, carried by each of the gauge elements 41, cooperates with val scale `5 I3on the channel 45 to indicate the relative positions of the gauge elements with respect to the housing. 1

Pivotally' mounted on the rear end of each of the gauge elements 41 is a bifurcated feeler head 52. Each of the feeler heads 52 is provided with slots 53 to receive astraight edge 54 in position to engage the reeds 56 as the lay moves forwardly. As shown, the feeler heads are pivoted to swing in a horizontal plane and have pointers 51 rigidly secured thereto .and extending forwardly over the arms 42, 43, and 44. A scale 58 carried by each of the gauge elements 41 Visually indicates the angular displacement of the feeler heads by reason of the engagement with the reeds. After the reeds are checked at the plurality of points provided by the three feeler heads 52, it is contemplated that a single straight edge will be mounted in all of the slots of the feeler head to extend entirely across the loom and thus check the alignment of all the reeds.

From the foregoing description the manner of use of my improved loom gauge will be apparent. Whenever it is desired to x, or set up, a loom, the arch is removed and my improved gauge is applied by bolting it down to the arch support I2 through the slotted holes I5, as shown in Fig. 2, the lugs I3 insuring that the cross beam will be set square with the loom. The cross beam is shifted until the pointers 23 and 24 show that it is centrally located with respect to the archsupport I2 whereupon the bolts II are tightened.`

down to hold it firmly in place. The side beams 3| and 32 are then secured to the breast beam 3E by means of the bolts 33 and 34; the straight edges 54 are mounted in the slots 53, and the loom is turned over to cause the crank shaft 59 to rotate and move the lay 6I forwardly. As the lay moves forwardly, the pointers 4a coacting with the. scales 5I visually indicate the amount of forward movement of the lay. If it should move forward unequally across the. loom vdue to a sprung crank shaft, damaged connectingV rods, a warped lay, or whatever cause, the indicators will show the defect, and the workmen may thereupon set about to apply the proper correction. At the same time, the alignment of the reeds may be indicated both with respect to'each other and to the backs of the shuttle boxes (not shown). By the use of my improved gauge, it will be seen that the parts of a loom may be fixed to move properly and squarely with the loom, and thus secure its proper, safe operation.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, butl is susceptible of various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A gauge for trueing up the lay and reeds of a loom comprising a rectangular frame, means to attach the frame to the loom, means to center the frame withA respect to the loom, feeler means yieldingly mounted on the frame and adapted to engage. the reeds as the lay moves forward, and indicator means associated with the feeler means to show the amount of movement of the feeler with respect to the lay as the lay moves forward.

2. A gauge for trueing up the lay and reeds of a.v loom comprising a rectangular frame, means to attach the frame to the loom, means to center the frame with respect to the loom, feeler means yieldingly mounted on the frame and adapted to engage the reeds as the lay moves forward, indcator means associated with each of the feeler means to show the amount of movement of each feeler with respect to the lay as the lay moves forward, feeler heads included in the feeler means and mounted to swing in a horizontal plane, and means to indicate the angular displacement mparted to each of the feeler heads by the reeds. A

3. In a gauge for trueing up the lay and reeds of a loom, a frame adapted for attachment to the loom, means to true up the frame with respect to the loom, a plurality of arms pivotally mounted on the frame and extending rearwardlyv toward the lay, spring pressed elements associated with the arms and adapted to yield responsive to forward movements of the lay, means to show visually the amount of yielding movement of each of said elements relative to the arm with which it is associated, feeler heads pivotally mounted on the rearward ends of each of said yielding elements and adapted to engage the reeds, and means to indicate the angular displacement of each of the feeler heads imparted by the reeds.

4. In a gauge for trueing up the lay andv reeds of a loom, a frame adapted for attachment to the loom, means to true up the frame with respect to the loom, a plurality of arms pivotally mounted on the frame and extending rearwardly toward the lay, spring` pressed elements associated with the arms and adapted to yield responsive to forward movements of the lay, means to show visually the amount of yielding movement of each of said elements relative to the arm with which it is associated, feeler heads Divotally mounted on the rearward ends of each of said yielding elements and adapted to engage the reeds, means for attaching a straight edge to each of the feeler heads to engage the reeds, and means to indicate the angular displacement of each of the heads imparted by the reeds.

5. In a gauge for trueing up the lay and reeds of a loom, a frame comprising a rear cross beam adapted to be secured to the loom, forwardly extending side beams and a front beam, means to secure the rear cross beam and side beams to the loom, means to center and adjust the position of the frame on the loom, a plurality of rearwardly extending arms pivotally mounted on the front beam, a feeler head pivotally mounted on each of the arms in position to be engaged by the reeds upon forward movements thereof, means providing relative yielding movement between the feeler heads and the rearwardly extending arms responsive to forward movements of the lay, means to indicate the amount of relative movement between the feeler heads and the arms, and other means to indicate the relative angular movement of the feeler heads with respect to the rearwardly extending arms.

THOMAS J. OLIVER. 

